Good thing the government shutdown didn't effect training camp!

Open scrimmage was tonight:

Looks like a good turnout for a scrimmage. Love the passion and support that Spurs fans put behind this team, best fans in the association!

Pretty incredible (salaries).

quote:

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9 Tony Parker G 6-2 $12,500,000
21 Tim Duncan F-C 6-11 $10,361,446
22 Tiago Splitter F-C 6-11 $10,000,000
20 Manu Ginobili G-F 6-6 $7,000,000
33 Boris Diaw F-C 6-8 $4,702,500
15 Matt Bonner F-C 6-10 $3,945,000
4 Danny Green G 6-6 $3,762,500
3 Marco Belinelli G 6-5 $2,750,000
2 Kawhi Leonard F 6-7 $1,991,760
11 Jeff Ayres F 6-9 $1,750,000
25 Nando De Colo G 6-5 $1,463,000
14 Corey Maggette G 6-6 $1,399,507
5 Cory Joseph G 6-3 $1,182,600
8 Patrick Mills G 6-0 $1,133,950
10 Sam Young F 6-6 $947,907
16 Aron Baynes C 6-10 $788,872
55 Marcus Cousin C 6-11 $788,872
27 Courtney Fells G 6-6 $490,180
1 Myck Kabongo G 6-1 $490,180
7 Dan Nwaelele G 6-4 $490,180

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Patty Mills gets $1M to sit on the bench as the last guy on the roster? Sign me up and I will wave a towel like no one has waved before.

Also, Tiago is our 3rd highest paid player.

Honestly, I would like to see Patty become our primary backup PG, unless CoJo can develop some offense.

If the Spurs do the "by committee" thing at backup PG it will only end up biting them in the butt in the long run again. Whoever it is, the Spurs need to go with that guy and let him play it night in and night out. You can't expect players to play their best when they get to play one night and then take two games off before their next stint.

Since Belinelli and Manu will play some together in the second unit and share PG duties at some points, my vote still goes for Joseph. I like what he does defensively and at the end of the day defense is what ultimately got the Spurs back to the finals. Patty deserves a look. De Colo is probably the odd man out there but will end up impressing throughout the year. Just how it goes. I like Joseph's aggressiveness on defense and that translates well to the playoffs. Guys who don't like physicality typically don't do well when the bright lights turn on.

I agree that the Spurs need to figure out who the backup is but they'll end up playing 40 or 50 games before deciding on that guy.

Awesome picture as well.

First preseason game vs. CSKA Moscow on right now. I found a stream on firstrowsports.eu

4 points in the 4th? Moscow with the killer D apparently

Spurs waive Sam Young - http://www.nba.com/spurs/news/131010_spurs_waive_sam_young

Not too surprsing. I guess that Kristic rejection didn't help his cause. Is it just me or did Patty get jacked over the offseason?

Not surprised either about the Sam Young news

Spurs helpin out at the SA food bank:

i was at the preseason game last night.

young and ayers looked like warmed over dog ****.

manu hit a little hot streak and jacked up a few heat check shots. bellinelli has a pretty shot.

Heard patty mills looks great

I thought Ayres did some nice things. He is what he is but I think he could develop into a solid reserve big in the NBA.

Young did look horrible hence his release.

Belinelli has a long way to go still but I think he will thrive here.

Joseph was very meh. De Colo as well. Mills looks to be in great shape and put on a lot of muscle. The Spurs really struggled with him running PG though. One of the big reasons CSKA made a come back.

Our backup PG spot is pretty mind boggling. Joseph is the only true PG but his future is still very up in the air.

Mills is a SG in a PGs body and De Colo is a PG in a SGs body but can't do anything off the ball.

Mills looks to be in great physical shape and is lightning quick. Also plays with a lot of intensity on both sides of the ball and we know he can shoot the rock. Problem is his inability to run the PG position. He struggles with penetration and getting others involved. A key area of the Spurs offense is moving the ball around and Patty just can't run the offense effectively.

On the other hand, De Colo is great at running the offense, getting into the paint and moving the ball around. His offense is hit or miss. Problem is he doesn't thrive off physical play (huge downfall in the playoffs), and he's bigger and slower than other PGs around the league which makes him unable to effectively guard other PGs in the NBA.

Joseph seems to be the safe play for me but he will never amaze you with his play. He runs the offense well, always makes the correct pass and is smart with the basketball. Like De Colo, his offense is also hit or miss at this point. Difference is Cory is a very capable defender who plays physical and smart defense. He's also got a good strong frame at 6'3. If Cory would play with the same intensity every night that we saw in the playoffs he would hands down be the best option. Problem is it seems to come and go with him.

quote:

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Dan McCarney @danmccarneysaen
Kawhi Leonard's HEB commercial debut is such a big deal even his mom showed up to the shoot. She said he's excited -- she thinks.

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The most highly anticipated film event since The Lord of the Rings, at least in my house.

[This message has been edited by Ulrich (edited 10/12/2013 12:30a).]

HEB Mootopia is really good, imo.

Spurs - Nuggets on NBAtv at 8:00 tonight.

These Nuggets announcers are turrible.

Spurs waive Maggette, Cousin and Kabongo. Fells and Nwalaelae are the lone survivors with 1 roster spot remaining. They have easily been the two most impressive so far this pre-season but I'd be surprised if either of them made the roster in the long run. Spurs will most likely keep an open spot open IMO.

The parts I saw and based on who I think was playing, Magette was crap.

Tiago aggrevates me a lot. He can do awesome stuff but then do really dumb stuff as well.

Yeah, Maggette doesn't have much left. He is retiring.

Obviously Duncan is Duncan but I've been really happy with how Tiago and Boris have looked thus far. Both are playing really well IMO. Boris playing all summer was a great thing for him/us. He didn't blow up on croissants all off-season. He's also been a lot more aggressive when it comes to his offense. Tiago is just a great defender at the C position and is one of the main reasons the Spurs ended up #1-4 in all major defensive categories last season.

As far the bigs go after that I still like what I see from Baynes. He's got a nice touch around the rim, a decent jumper from 15 feet and can really help defensively against bigger guys down low. Bonner is Bonner and him being on the team for 9 years is just comical at this point.

Ayres has showed some good things and then some bad things. Not sure about his game yet.

Baynes hit the game winner today against Atlanta.

Big three look fantastic. Leonard looks like his game is continuing to grow. I really hope the Spurs and Pop utilize his talents more this year. He deserves the ball in his hand.

Green is green. Still can't dribble but that shot is sweet.

Diaw looks really good to me. Really impressed with his play thus far. He's in great shape. Tiago looks like he's going to have another great year starting at C.

Belinelli's game is just a great fit for the Spurs but he's just not their yet chemistry wise and understanding of the offense. Totally understandable but we need to see some steady improvement on his end. Was nice to see him have a good offensive showing scoring 13 and knocking down a couple threes.

The roster gets really interesting when you start to bring up the backup PG and 4th big discussions.

Joseph has primarily been the first PG off the bench during all the pre-season games thus far but did not dress tonight. De Colo got that honor and was first pg off the bench tonight. He went 0-5 from the field and struggled in other areas as well. De Colo shows flashes some games but then lays duds like this often. When a player is this inconsistent offensively and a mediocre defense, I feel a lot more comfortable going with the more solid defender night in and night out (Joseph)


Now onto Mills, He entered the game for the first time at the 9 minute mark in the 4th and ended up finishing with 11 points. The Hawks really started making a comeback once Patty was in the game running PG but it's not fair to judge him on that seeing as he was out there with all the other new Spurs. Right now in my eyes I would rank them Joseph - Mills - De Colo. Mills deserves a shot to play with the 1st and 2nd units though IMO.


I'm loving what I see from the big Aussie Aron Baynes. He's massive and physical but very athletic as well. His big body and aggressive play do make him susceptible to committing fouls but he brings a lot more positives to the court. He has a solid jump shot and a nice touch around the rim. I know Pop hates fouling but I really hope this guy sees some consistent minutes this season.

Ayres - I'm still not sure what I think about his game. He plays really hard and shows a high IQ for the game. I honestly thought he had a little more offensively than what he brings but he plays tough and seems to be a solid rebounder and defender. He had another bad game offensively tonight though going 0/5 from the field.

Bonner - LOL. Atrocious soft defense and got dominated down low his entire 11 minutes.

Goes 2-2 from three. All too familiar. Turn the page please.

I'm not crazy about Ayres. If he turns into a defensive weapon, he could easily change my mind. I'm just not seeing it.

I still think we should drop Bonner like a bad habit. Someone 6'10'' should be pulling down at least 5-7 rebounds a game. It's the least he could do with his warmed over dog shizzzz defense.

[This message has been edited by Obi Wan Ginobili (edited 10/18/2013 9:47p).]

Looks like the Spurs will have a new alternate Camo jersey that will be worn a few times on military appreciation nights.